Basilico Cucina Italiana

Pleasantly surprised! Food and service were great we will for sure to be back. We had the lamb pasta, salmon, steak and egg plant mozzarella and tomato not to say the desserts were amazing. It was a bit like being back it Italy

Very comfortable and inviting atmosphere! Food was incredible and authentic and the service was great! Can’t say enough good things about this place loved it!

Just went there with a few of my friends and i have to say we had an amazing time.
The place it such a nice setting they also have a full bar which is a plus for our group
About the food we started with some delicious crispy calamari and some of their aranchini that was really good.
For myself i had the pollo saporito i believe was on the specials that night and shared a feste salad the pollo was very good and i liked the fact that it was so juicy. The salad was like no other the dressing was just right and the carmolized onions on top gave it a great taste.
Over all o would most definitely recommend this place five stars for me. Was treated like family there and thats what i loved was so welcoming.

My husband and I just came across this restaurant and loved it! Food was excellent and service was outstanding.
The ambience was quite classy and impressive with the full bar, and the service, especially Jaimy was very attentive and kind. We had a great time there!

My wife and I dine out nearly every night. Tonight was a treat… wonderful! We stop in once a week and have since Robertos. Not going into details, you won’t be disappointed. Great food, superior service and excellent cocktails! Cheers!

Just returned from Mother’s Day dinner at Basilico. The meal was good, the service was prompt. Aside from the unfriendly hostess it was a good evening out. However, during the entire meal every other mother in attendance was presented with a rose on their way out. Except mine. Honestly, it sounds petty, but after seeing every other mother there being given a rose to celebrate their day, it was really rude to not have my mother be included. They had not run out because the roses were still being passed out as we left. It kind of put a damper on the whole meal, and hurt her feelings. Because of this, I will not be returning, my family will not be returning, and we will encourage others to explore other restaurants.

I lived in Italy for 16 years and this is by far the most authentic Italian cuisine I have ever had. I had the pleasure to try Fava bean crostini, saffron risotto arancini, and the lamb rack. All which tasted delicious.
Next time I will be in Santa Rosa I will definatly come back and try more of the delicious plates on the menu.

We were a little disappointed in the selection of menu items. We had the butternut squash raviolis which were good but not great. The bread seemed a little stale and really small pieces.
The service was good because we went early so that accounted for that.
We think they are a little expensive for what you get. We miss Roberto’s.

My first time at Basilico Cucina Italiana, I have a great lunch today, Easter Day!!! First Calamari Fritti then Rigatoni alla Carcerata both were delicious! I really recommend this place. :)

First visit and we will be back. Stopped by at 7:30 for dinner for four. Great space but REALLY loud. Calamari and Avocado salad from the nights specials were perfect. We especially liked the salad with the perfect combo of pecorino, golden raisins, avocado, and butter lettuce. We each ordered a different dish and they were each great. Linguini and clams-​chicken breast with Parma and arugula (awesome) — house made ravaloli, and perfect gnocchi. Despite the crowd everything was timely and the service was good. We tried a couple deserts and those were also great. One note: the cap/​Expresso was the richest and strongest I’ve ever had… Don’t know if that’s good or bad but it was pretty darn shocking!
After Riveria this will be or go to spot

Tried the calamari and polenta for apps
Calamari was tender and crispy,
Polenta was a cream of wheat consistently and was bland one bite and super salty the next.
We had the veal Marsala and clam linguini for dinner. Veal was very good, linguini not so much. Lacked flavor and almost had a gas (cooking fuel) hint to it.
Ended the meal with tiramisu, middle of the road.
All in all I was ready to have the caliber of food that was Roberto’s, while some of the same staff was still there, the food has gone down hill. I miss the veal romana

Thought I’d try again on a regular week night. The service was very attentive, without being intrusive. Our dinners (we both had veal marsala) were sooo tasty. We both used our fingers to lap up our porcini mushroom sauce. Very good and did not disappoint.

Recently dined at Basilico’s for the third time and it gets better with each visit. The gnocchi is divine, as is the entire menu. I understand that Anglelo (owner and chef) makes many of the dishes by hand and they certainly demostrate his sklill with the pasta machine!
So glad Roberto’s is gone and replaced by this gem!

My second experience here proved me quality works as a Standard. I got two different dishes and both were really good.
I wasn’t expecting the place was so crowd but even like that the service had the same quality.

I was under-​whelmed for our first visit here. Though the other 3 diners seemed more pleased.
We had a rough start — we showed up about 650pm for a 7pm reservation. The hostess had a tone of reprimand when she stated our reservations were for 630pm. Ou host was quite sure he’d made them for 7pm. But no matter, they had open tables. So, why did she even feel she had to mention it???
Service was mediocre — our waiter did come over quite quickly initially but then service between courses and to get our check were slow, in my opinion. Interestingly enough, the waiter told us he had waived our corkage fee — with no explanation. I can only think it’s because he knew his service was not great.
The meal
I had beef carparico — ok not great.
Cesear sald — ok but drowned in dressing.
The courses had by others that they liked:
The fish special of the day
Veal scallopini marsala
Pasta with oxtail meat sauce
appetizer of arrancini — good
desserts were quite good
crème brûlée
cannolli — had real ricotta cheese — that’s good
All in all we had a lovely evening but not a fab dinner. But we will probably try it again –it’s close and a nice addition to our side of town.

We used to come here with the husband & mother in-​law.
Its now under different name and management/​ownership. It didn’t disappoint WE had a very lovely dinner day after Christmas with my family & the in-​laws. My 2 year old also enjoyed her pasta and her gelato.
Very good menu selection.

This was our first visit here. There was so much hoopla surrounding the opening of this restaurant. The former «Roberto’s» closed and the restaurant was bought by the owners of Cucina Paradiso in Petaluma. The east side of Santa Rosa was buzzing that the new Basilico Cucina Italiana would be fantastic based on their dining experiences at the Petaluma restaurant. After reading the latest December reviews, I was definitely nervous about doing birthday dinners here.
We arrived and were greeted by a young gal at the hostess station and she directed us to our «semi private» table in the back of the dining room. As I walked in I noticed the TV’s over the bar that were playing the nightly sporting events. Hmmm, is this supposed to be a sports bar too? Seems odd to me. There were 7 of us so everyone ordered something different. To start, hubby and I shared a salad of arugula, endive and mixed greens with a lemon vinaigrette dressing. We both liked the salad and the kitchen did split it up for us nicely. We decided to try the Arancini Rice Balls. The order comes with 2 very large Arancini’s, which did have good flavor. Then I ordered what was called a «pasta pocket» stuffed with vegetables and a light tomato cream sauce. When they brought this plate of «pasta pocket» and I took a bite, I was seriously disgusted — it tasted awful! So many different flavors amongst a very mushy mess covered with a thick red pepper tasting sauce. I sent it back and reordered the fresh made pasta with rock shrimp. While I did like this entrée, it was just OK. Other dishes that our friends ordered included spinach ravioli (a hit); linguine Vongole (with clams that were rubbery); fresh pasta with lamb ragu sauce (sauce was pretty bland); and a pork loin with mustard sauce which got an «A-​OK»
The general consensus was that the desserts were pretty amateur. They included a cannoli, and Zabaglione with pannetone. A Zabaglione is normally a very creamy dessert but it seemed like it was a bowl of whipped cream.
The service was good, however one of our waiters was very grumpy and never cracked a smile. The noise level was busy and loud and the restaurant was only half full that night. Had to yell across the table just to have a conversation. A friendly suggestion — Get rid of the TV’s unless you want to run a sports bar restaurant! Will I go back — not sure. It sure didn’t knock my socks off and I know there are better Italian restaurants in Sonoma County.

Food /​Service /​dining ambience is a real hit or miss situation here. Seven in our party spent 3 hours eating and drinking. We took a poll around the table just before we stood up to leave. Here’s some of the comments.
Food: «My fettucine with rock shrimp & arugula had a big lump of congealed noodles». «My pasta pocket was god awful. Mushy outside and the ingredients inside were horrible». My half moon shape ravioli were delicious”. «My linguini with clams tasted good but the small clams were pretty rubbery». «The Sicilian cannoli was pencil thin. The crispy shell was a little oily, the creamy cheese filling was tasty».
Service: The manager helped work the floor. He was efficient if a bit too rushed. We got served by several waiters. They were mostly all accommodating, though one was pretty miserable and made no effort to hide it. Timing was good. All seven main courses came out within 5 minutes of each other.
Dining room: NOISY! Full to capacity on a Tuesday evening. Talking to a person more than 2 chairs away was impossible. The bar area in the main dining room has 3 TV sets all showing sports events with sound. Okay, is this a fine dining establishment or a sports bar? Trying to be both is a mistake.
Prices: Salads = $ 9 to $ 11. Pasta dishes = $ 14 — $ 20. Desserts $ 6 — $ 10. Wine by the glass $ 9 — $ 15. Corkage on your bottle = $ 18.
Value for quality /​quantity: Grade C.
Yes, Basilico is operated by the Petaluma Cucina Paradiso family. That restaurant has much better food in a nicer room.

Basilico Cuciana Italina, brought to you by the people that own Cucina Paradiso in Petaluma, has been open only two week but already looks to be a hit. We had reservations early Friday evening and within 30 minutes the place was full. The restaurant is deceiving, from the outside it looks rather small but inside it opens up to a large Bar-​Dining room as well as another large dining room in the rear of the restaurant.
Based on our dinner Friday the place shows a lot of promise. Large menu plus an additional page of specials. From the regular menu we chose the Mixed Italian appetizer for two which was tasty but not what we expected. We thought it was a hot appetizer for two. Our fault, not the restaurant. It had a good variety, beef carpaccio, mortadella, pâté on toast, mozzarella and tomato skewer, salami and olives.
Our mains were Veal scallopine, veal with porcini mushroom and marsala wine sauce with touch of cream. Other entrée was homemade pappardelle Bolognese. Both entrees were excellent, it was hard to pick a favorite.
Decided to split a cannoli for dessert. It was good but have had better. A bit too grainy and not creamy enough.
Service all through dinner was very good, you would never know it’s only been open for two weeks. For those wishing to bring their own wine, corkage is allowed and is $ 18.00 per bottle.
Based on this meal we will definitely be back to sample more of the menu.

As fans of their restaurant in Petaluma, Cucina Paradiso, we were thrilled to hear that Basilco Cuciana was opening in Santa Rosa. As always, all the personnel are welcoming, friendly and perfectly execute the dining experience. Each dish is prepared with care and is as close as it gets to actually dining in Italy. We enjoyed caesar salads, handmade ravioli, gnocchi with duck and veal scallopini. All perfectly seasoned, flavorful and rich. We will be regulars here. Good luck with the new sister restaurant!

I have lived in Sonoma County for 20 years and used to drive by Roberto’s almost daily. While I love Italian Food — I never heard much about «Roberto’s» — so I never went in. Of course I started hearing how «Good» Roberto’s was until after it closed. «Yeah, the Calamari Steak was excellent» someone would opine.
Gee maybe I should have tried it.
Enter Basilico. For weeks I drove by as I saw signs and work being done to open this new Italian Restaurant. «Do we really need ANOTHER Italian Restaurant?» I thought.
Well Yes we do — if it’s a really good one!
Basilico delivers excellent food. My Wife and I put in an order to go last Friday and we were treated to some of the best Pasta Dishes We have ever had.
I opted for Pasta Bolognese, my Wife got a Ravioli stuffed with cheese, and my Step Daughter got a Gnocchi dish. All were excellent.
My wait was minimal for our order and while I waited people kept pouring in. I mean Wow this place was jumping Folks.
So if you want some great Italian fare — check this out. We will definitely be back. If you want another option check out Trattoria Cattaeno — also highly recommended.

While the restaurant has been only opened 6 days, there are a list of things that need to be changed if they wish to have their clients enjoy a nice dining experience. First, RELAX… the staff is too wound up, too on task, and too busy asking how everything is. It makes for a tense atmosphere. Second, turn down the lights, the ambience is too stark, too cold. Third, don’t overbook it makes would be clients very grumpy and doesn’t make for a relaxing meal when you know they need your table.
Now for the food. I had the Caesar Salad which was excellent with just enough dressing and the right touch of anchovies. Second was the Chantrell mushrooms with housemade noodles in a wine garlic and pepper sauce. Extremely tasty. Dessert was nice as well.
So in closing relax the atmosphere and we will be back.